What is fear? The dictionary says fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Psychology Today says, “Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn’t feel it, we couldn’t protect ourselves from legitimate threats. However, often we fear situations that are far from life-or-death, and thus hang back for no good reason. Traumas or bad experiences can trigger a fear response within us that is hard to quell.”

What do we fear? For example, there is the fear of man, fear of heights, fear of animals, fear of punishment, fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of the devil, and the fear of God.

Fear first strikes in the mind. Fear then attacks the soul. Those without God cannot defeat fear.

The born again believer in Jesus Christ can defeat fear. However, for the believer in Jesus Christ, we must qualify what is legitimate fear.

Legitimate Fear

We must fear God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalms 111:10 ESV)

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10 NIV)

“But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!” (Luke 12:5 HCSB)

We must fear the Day of Judgment. “Just as human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27 CJB)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11 ESV)

“In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment, for we are as He is in this world. There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:17-19 HCSB)

We should not fear punishment, because if we are followers of Jesus, we know He took upon Himself the punishment for sin reserved for us.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:14-16 NIV)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself–a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 HCSB)

We should not fear death because Jesus died for us, and was raised from the dead and thereby defeated death. “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil– and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV)

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 HCSB)

Facing Fear

The believer in Jesus Christ must discern when they are fearful, whether or not their fear is legitimate. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)

A believer can legitimately become afraid for very good reasons. However, if there is no legitimate reason to fear, like the near miss of a car accident, or your child falls and hurts themselves, and thoughts begin to enter your mind that are contrary to the nature, character, and the promises of God and what you know is true in your heart, then the fear is coming from something else. That fear could be a demon lying to you.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NKJV)

There are lying spirits. “Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’” (1 Kings 22:21-22 NKJV) For a spirit to lie to a believer, God has to give it permission to do so.

Sometimes, these lying spirits are demons that inflict fear. “His servants said to him, “We know that an evil spirit sent by God is tormenting you.” (1 Samuel 16:15 GNB)

These lying spirits are used for the testing of our faith, “At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One.” (Ephesians 6:16 GNB)

Sometimes, God can use demons or spirits to aid in the process of sanctification, “Therefore, to keep me from becoming overly proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from the Adversary to pound away at me, so that I wouldn’t grow conceited.” (2 Corinthians 12:7 CJB)

Fear and faith are totally opposite from one another. We must always trust in and rely upon God to be there for us. If we do not, we will invariably become afraid. “So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 ESV)

Therefore, the enemy, a demon can lie to us, saying there is no hope, or the outcome is dim. We know this is not from God, for God tells us our hope and salvation is in Him, and He will deliver us from evil. “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13 NRSV)

We must believe God, and trust in His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. “”Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1 NASB)

We cannot truly know God without treasuring Jesus in our hearts. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13 NASB)

Defeating Fear

Negative thoughts come from either our own fleshly minds or an evil, deceitful, lying spirit. These negative thoughts create anxiety. We can become fearful and even terrified. These thoughts could be called, fiery darts or arrows, missiles, or seem like javelins aimed at our hearts to unsettle us. Fear can lead to anxiety. Therefore, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

Finally, we must be strong in the power of His might! We must trust in God through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, because “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 NASB)

Rejoice! In Jesus Christ, we have overcome the evil one and all his minions!

Verse 1:
1. Glory and honor are due unto God
2. Not just ordinary praise, but high praise given to God
3. This high praise comes from all of our being
4. Those who have been made righteous give this praise
5. God’s work in creation, providence, & redemption is exceptional

Verses 2-4:
6. God’s workings are so marvelous they cannot be forgotten
7. Those who love God delight in and seek out His wondrous works
8. The nature and character of God is justice and holiness
9. Memorials: eternal covenant, Law, Passover (Pascha), the Lord’s Supper, Baptism
10. God has tender mercy and is actively compassionate toward us

Verse 5:
11. The Psalmist reminds the people of God’s goodness
12. The God of peace, Who through the blood of the eternal covenant

Verse 6:
13. God’s powerful working is seen in the regeneration of our souls

Verses 7-8
14. God has always had a purpose and design for His works

Verse 9:
15. There is a transition from…
15. The Psalmist declaring the mighty works that Jehovah has done for His people
16. To Mt. Sinai and the commandments that He has given to them
17. “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”(Galatians 5:14)
18. “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
19. “but he became a priest with an oath when God said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.'” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:21-22)
20. Jesus Christ is the surety, the guarantee, the insurer of the eternal covenant

Verse 10:
21. Holy and terrifying is His Name – Yahweh, Jehovah, THE LORD!
22. In vs. 9 awesome or fearful = to stand in awe, to be afraid, to fear, to inspire reverence
23. In vs. 10 The fear of the Lord, = fear, terror, a terrifying thing, to stand in awe
24. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20)
25. Psalm 111 speaks of God’s divine attributes: power, wisdom, faithfulness, and goodness
26. Psalm 111 issues the need for our response to God by: deep inquiry into communion with Him, being in awe of God that He is God, obedience in trusting in and relying upon God, and that true praise and worship flow from our inner most being in the gatherings of the local church, in our special personal times of devotion, and at all times in our hearts

If we attend Christian instruction/Catechism before we are born again, what happens then is we are trained on the treadmill of merit (Law). Our orientation is backwards. Law comes before Grace. The same thing can happen when you become a Christian and are not instructed in the Christian faith — you end up on the treadmill running away from the fear of not “performing” up to what you think are God’s standards. The Law was given as a teacher – “this is how your relationship with God must be; this is how your relationship to others should be.” It teaches us that we are sinners, and there is no way that we can “keep” this Law on our own. Grace says, Here is God’s mercy. Here is God’s love for you, in that while you were yet sinners, My beloved Son died in your place, Jesus paid the price for your redemption from sin, sickness and death. He took upon Himself God’s wrath – our punishment was upon Him.

It is by means of God’s mercy do we perceive that the Law says I’m a sinner, and then in God’s mercy His Grace touches our hearts, He delivers us through “the bath of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)

“The one trusting in the Son has eternal life; but the one resisting the Son shall not see the life, but the anger of God remains upon him.” ~ John 3:36

Therefore, it is “…by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, that not anyone should boast; for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God before prepared that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Now, we live the Law, because God has written it upon our hearts, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to observe our relationship to God and others as the Law requires. We are made free from vain effort, but none the less do we put forth effort, because God is behind us encouraging us in our abundant life. And, if we fail, if we sin, God is faithful to forgive us, because He promised that to us in Christ. At the same time, God is righteous and holy. Therefore, He promised, because of the shed blood of Christ on Calvary to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. This is conditional though, because we are told to confess our sin, and turn from it back toward God.

“If we should say that we do not have sin, we mislead ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we should acknowledge our sins, He is trustworthy and just that He should have forgiven us the sins and should have cleansed us from all iniquity.” ~ 1 John 1:8-9

Jesus Christ is our salvation, our redemption, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our glorification. He is our ALL in ALL. The life I live, is Christ Jesus my Lord.

I stayed awake last night after about 0130 AM, just thinking about my situation. Here I am looking about my home from the cushions from my couch, as my wife lay next to me in a hospital bed furnished by Hospice of the Valley. I hear the whooshing of the oxygen concentrator as it pumps fresh oxygen into my wife’s lungs at 4 liters per minute or second, whatever it is. I look about in the semi darkness and hear her labored breathing. I think about the bills I have to pay, the rent that is very past due, and everything else one thinks about when his wife tells him the hour is near. We have until July 9th to come up with $2153.76. We have exhausted various local resources for help. They are either out of money or ask us to wait a few months. We can’t wait. I can’t wait, and my wife and child can’t wait either. Yes, I was working a job, but when I told them about my wife’s Dream Foundation vacation they approved, they weren’t very happy with it, but approved it. When I returned from the vacation and told them my wife’s condition has declined since leaving, and that I needed 5 more days to find someone to come into my home to watch her, they weren’t happy about that either. Above all that, I had to drive 40 miles to work every day. I loved that position, but it is realistically too far to travel because, a) don’t want to be that far away from my sick wife, b) at $4.30 a gallon I was paying almost $100 a week in gas! The company wouldn’t compensate for any of the travel. So now, I am without a job. I will start looking Monday, for something very close. I need to find something that will bring in some money.

It is sad, that the state of the financial situation of many people in our country is pretty bad. For one reason or another, a lot of Americans are robbing peter to pay paul in their life to survive! I was laid off last May of 2007. I was on unemployment until the end of November. I couldn’t get a job until like February. Things started to fall behind. I had to take out a couple of loans from Army Emergency Relief (thank God for them!) to catch up. But, it was only temporary. I have never really caught up. Now my rent is due…..it’s July and very hot, and I am NOT going to leave this house! God must supply ALL of my needs according to His riches in glory! Why? Because I believe He will, and I am praying very hard, with tears, as to why He is testing us so!! With all that is going on, why must we have to go through so much more? I am feeling like Job again.

What to do, what to do. The clock ticks the minutes, and hours and the days go by, one by one getting closer to THE day ~ when the rent is due, and when the lights will be turned off, etc., etc. Life is hard. For the young out there, it is NOT a cakewalk. You have no one except family to care ABOUT you, and not always care FOR you. They have their own responsibilities and expenses. It isn’t required in the complicated world we live in today. Oh for the days when several generations would live in one big home, like the Walton’s (sorry for the reference)!! When we could enjoy our brothers and sisters, and grandparents all under one roof!

Today I look at the icons of Jesus Christ and pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon my family.” I am threatened of life on the street and no place to stay, and yet my wife says she isn’t going anywhere. Does she know something I don’t? I have relatives staying with me from North Carolina, a daughter and granddaughter. I was so relieved to see them, to have family near and dear, which I have missed so much. My family is spread all over the country, Florida, Michigan, California, North Carolina, and Arizona. Why do families and children want to be so far from each other? What has society done to these precious relationships?

God wants me to build His church, but then His church starts with my family, then it grows from there. As a married Orthodox priest, I see how family is related to the Church and the Church to family. The Church has helped us, but is unable to help us completely. Thank God for what they could do!

Is this a plea for help? Or is this an observation of someone in need maybe too proud to ask or to afraid of rejection? It is probably both. Some of you are subscribed to my blog and others aren’t. I wish all my friends were subscribed to my blog. Not just for this piece I am writing now, but for the instruction and writing that I have done to teach you the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, I fell asleep last night thinking on all these things. I dreamt weird dreams, about raging rivers, and ragged rock faces, treacherous roads, and strangers hindering me. I feel as though I am facing doom, but I know my Savior is near me and loves me, and will not let me down…..it’s just the process that really sucks!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.